Lection and Liturgy

As with the books of Samuel, there are rather more excerpts from Kings in the continuous ecumenical lectionary, than there are in the related set of Old Testament readings. This additional set brings a semi-continuous reading of the stories of Elijah and Elisha, two prophets fabled for their interventions in politics and the miracles they worked as proofs that God favoured them. 1 The books of Kings take the story of Israel’s monarchy from the death of David to the deportations to Babylon that marked the end of the kingdom of Judah, and the beginning of the Exile. 2 A significant amount of time is devoted to David’s son, Solomon, and particularly his building of the temple. The writer enjoys offering lavish and detailed descriptions of its construction, and he will end his story with its dismantling and the despoiling of its sanctuary. (At the start of the books of Kings 3 the kingdom of Israel is portrayed as at its greatest extent (one still longed for by s...

There are a few carefully selected stories from the two books of Samuel which occur in the lectionary. There is a larger number in those churches which use the continuous Old Testament lectionary. This wider selection is not surprising, as these books tell the story, often quite critically, of the establishment of the Israelite monarchy. They also present a warts-and-all picture of the man who would come to be revered as the ideal king, David of Bethlehem. King David Playing the Harp (detail), Gerard van Honthorst, 1622, via Wikimedia Commons The book begins with the story of Samuel’s birth to Hannah and Elkanah, though Hannah, desperate to conceive, is the main character. Her story, and that of the eventual birth of her son as an answer to prayer, is echoed by Luke when he comes to tell the story of Mary and Elizabeth at the beginning of the gospel. Hannah gives her miracle baby, Samuel, back to God and he is brought up in the sanctuary at Shiloh. He grows up to become a ...

As we move into the history books (or former prophets) I’m going to take both Joshua and Judges together. First, there are only a couple of readings from Joshua in the Sunday lectionary (and none from Judges), and secondly they make something of a contrast with each other. Judges – despite its omission from the lectionary – contains some cracking stories about some famous names like Gideon and Samson. These used to be a Sunday School staple despite the sex and violence. However, they tend to be too long for them easily to be used on a Sunday, and perhaps we are more shocked by some of these stories than our ancestors were. The main reading used on a Sunday (and also in some of the provision for initiation services) comes from the climax to the book of Joshua. 1 It is a covenant renewal ceremony that challenges the listeners to make the story of the exodus their own, and worship only the liberating God who has led them into the promised land. Joshua tells a stor...

We turn from law to history, or from instruction to prophecy, depending on whether you’re a Christian or a Jew. The second major division of the Old Testament in the Christian tradition is a group of historical writings. At this point the contents page of the church’s bible begins to look different from the Jewish one. The Jewish tradition puts what Christians call the historical books in two different categories, with the earlier books classed as Prophets, and some later ones put in the category of Writings. 1 The historical books classed as Prophets are Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel (treated by Jews as a single scroll or book) and 1 & 2 Kings (also treated as a single book). These make up what are known in Jewish tradition as the four Former Prophets. 2 This Jewish classification is a good reminder that we are reading history with a message: the books are concerned not simply to relate what happened, but to tell the story of God’s activity with, for and sometim...